Infectious diseases or ID, also known as infectiology, is a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of infections. An infectious diseases specialist’s practice consists of managing nosocomial (healthcare-acquired) infections or community-acquired infections. An ID specialist investigates and determines the cause of a disease (bacteria, virus, parasite, fungus or prions). Once the cause is known, an ID specialist can then run various tests to determine the best drug to treat the disease. While infectious diseases have always been around, the infectious disease specialty did not exist until the late 1900s after scientists and physicians in the 19th century paved the way with research on the sources of infectious disease and the development of vaccines.

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The Infectious Diseases category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is “Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America”.

Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).

The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH, is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1880s and is now part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Many NIH facilities are located in Bethesda, Maryland, and other nearby suburbs of the Washington metropolitan area, with other primary facilities in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and smaller satellite facilities located around the United States. The NIH conducts its own scientific research through the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program.

As of 2013, the IRP had 1,200 principal investigators and more than 4,000 postdoctoral fellows in basic, translational, and clinical research, being the largest biomedical research institution in the world, while, as of 2003, the extramural arm provided 28% of biomedical research funding spent annually in the U.S., or about US$26.4 billion.

The NIH comprises 27 separate institutes and centers of different biomedical disciplines and is responsible for many scientific accomplishments, including the discovery of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder, and the creation of vaccines against hepatitis, Haemophilus influenzae (HIB), and human papillomavirus (HPV).

Source: Wikipedia

Mission:  
The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Senate rules.

House counterpart: Committee on Education and Labor

Democratic Members (Minority):
Bernie Sanders, Vermont – Ranking Member
Patty Murray, Washington
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Chris Murphy, Connecticut
Tim Kaine, Virginia
Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware
Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Andy Kim, New Jersey

Republican Members (Majority):
Bill Cassidy, Louisiana,
Rand Paul, Kentucky
Susan Collins, Maine
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Roger Marshall, Kansas
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Josh Hawley, Missouri
Tim Scott, South Carolina
Jim Banks, Indiana
Mike Crapo, Idaho
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

Featured Video: 
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Cmte Hearing on COVID-19

Current: US Senator since 2007
Affiliation: Democrat
Leadership:  Chair, Committee on the Budget
Next Election: 

History: Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history but has a close relationship with the Democratic Party, having caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his congressional career and sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, coming second in both campaigns. He is often seen as a leader of the U.S. progressive movement.

While a student, he was a protest organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the civil rights movement.  He was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981 as an independent and was reelected three times. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990, representing Vermont’s at-large congressional district, later co-founding the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Quotes: How do you feed your family, how do you pay to see a doctor, when you’re spending, 40, 50, 60% of your income on housing? You don’t! With the passage of this historic budget reconciliation bill, we can build the affordable housing that our country desperately needs. July 24, 2021/

Featured Video: Republicans are getting VERY NERVOUS!

Current Position: US Senator since 2015
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: Physician from 1983 – 2015

Cassidy specialized in the treatment of diseases of the liver at the Earl K. Long Medical Center (LSUMC). n 1998, Cassidy helped found the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic to provide uninsured residents of the greater Baton Rouge area with access to free health care.

Featured Quote: 
FEMA and the federal government shouldn’t be reinventing the wheel after every disaster. I’m working on legislation to ensure we learn from what works and what doesn’t to strengthen our response and better help families recover after natural disasters.

Senator Bill Cassidy gives statement after vote to convict Trump

The Committee on Energy and Commerce serves as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public’s health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them.

Senate counterparts: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Subcommittees:

•  Communications and Technology
• Energy, Climate and Grid Security
• Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals
• Health
• Innovation, Data and Commerce
• Oversight and Investigations

Chair: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington (R)
Ranking Member: Frank Pallone, New Jersey (D)

Majority Staff Director: N/A
Minority Staff Director: N/A
Meeting Location:

Featured Video: 
Disinformation Nation: Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation – March 25, 2021

Current Position: US Representative of NJ District 6 since 1981
Affiliation: Democrat
District:   includes the northern and eastern portions of Middlesex County and the coastal areas of Monmouth County, including towns along the Raritan Bay
Upcoming Election:

The 6th district, numbered as the 3rd district from 1988 to 1993, is in the north-central part of the state and includes New Brunswick, Woodbridge Township, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, Edison, Piscataway and Asbury Park. Pallone is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Before being elected to the House, he was a member of the Long Branch City Council from 1982 to 1988.

Current Position: US Representative of KY District 2 since 2009
Affiliation: Republican
Former Position: State Senator from 2000 – 2008
Other Positions:  Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee
District:    west central Kentucky, the district includes Bowling Green, Owensboro, Elizabethtown, and a portion of eastern Louisville. 
Upcoming Election:

Guthrie is a former vice president of Trace Die Cast, Inc., an automotive parts supplier based in Bowling Green. He previously served as a field artillery officer in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Featured Quote: 
Socialism has led to suffering & oppression in Cuba & other countries where tried. A resolution I support denounces socialism & opposes socialist polices being implemented here. Much has been sacrificed to ensure our freedoms in the U.S.-freedoms Cubans are fighting for. #SOSCuba

Brett Guthrie – 2019 Congressional Tour | From the Podium